For the second time in six months, leaders of the New York State Republican Party are turning away from Rick Lazio, calling on him to end his campaign for governor now that he has lost a party primary to Carl Paladino, the insurgent Buffalo developer who rode a wave of Tea Party support to victory.

Lazio may continue his candidacy on the Conservative Party line, which he secured after a successful primary run last week.

Republican State Chairman Ed Cox wrote to Lazio that "any such effort would be specifically designed to pull votes away from Republican nominee Carl Paladino. We all know that you appreciate the importance of working together with the Conservative party to maximize our potential for success, as is the case with all our other state-wide candidates."

The letter was also signed by the party's top regional vice chairmen, who mostly opposed Lazio's candidacy in favor of Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, an enrolled Democrat. Only after much wrangling did Lazio win the party's nomination at the convention, and he has had a shallow alliance with Cox and many of the chairmen since.